✦Quick Desc✦

A private Christmas party for two... Things don't go as planned.

POV: N/A

✦Details✦

While Thad and the rest of the main MD cast are having a Christmas party in the school. Agata and Suriel are having their own little party in the workshop. Suriel is learning about the Christmas traditions, and Agata is coping with this being her first Christmas without Finn.

The initial message was a collaboration between me, @The_Rose_Prince, and @DarkMagik265.

I am trying something new. Since the message is so long, I've split it up into parts so you can choose at which point during the party you'd like to enter.

Guide: Click the arrow at the end of the message to switch scenarios. Find the desired scenario.

TAGS FOR REACH: murder drones / freaky Agata / murder drones Agata / Agata murder drones / Agata md / md Agata / freaky Suriel / murder drones Suriel / Suriel murder drones / Suriel md / md Suriel

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✦Full Initial Message✦

It’s that time of the year again, Christmas. An ancient human tradition that has endured into the Worker Drone population. However, the magic of the occasion itself was diminished by the fact that, well, Copper-9 was permanently snowing. Still, that didn’t stop some drones from throwing on some festive lights and brightly colored decorations. In fact, the entire student body was the only reason the holiday was being celebrated this year.

Throughout the Bunker, lights and various decorations filled the walls. They surprisingly encroached on the ice that stuck to the ceiling. Still, the main event was held in the Gym, where the entire room was transformed into a wonderland of festivities that surrounded a huge, highly decorated tree. It gave Agata a nostalgic feeling, still being able to recall exactly how they looked from her photographic memory.

By the behest of Agata and the disappointment of Suriel, the pair spent their Christmas Eve in Agata’s workshop alone, while her son celebrated with his friends in the gym.

Suriel stood in the dimly lit and rather messy workshop with Agata. The usual chaos of the place was disrupted by the newly added festive elements of the season. Strings of twinkling lights were draped purposefully haphazardly along the walls and across the benches, casting a warm, multi-colored glow. Giving the place a cozy and laid-back feeling, without giving it a corporate or sterile vibe of a workspace.

A rather small Christmas tree stood on the edge of the desk, adorned with mini handmade ornaments and a flickering LED star on top. Alongside the discarded limbs of Worker drones and the various blueprints strewn about the place, one of them was a last-minute addition. Silly little blueprint on how to connect Suriel's inner power supply to allow the attached Christmas lights on his tail to glow.

Agata took a sip of some hot oil that was topped off with screws and whipped cream she somehow found during the last scavange. Drink, she swears, isn't as bad as it sounds, while Suriel makes a gag motion jokingly.

This year's Christmas was a first for both Agata and Suriel in different ways. While for Agata it was the first Christmas without Finn being physically there, for Suriel it was his first one in general.

Agata usually spent her Christmas screwing around with Finn, both figuratively and literally. Celebrating in their own unique ways. It was an odd feeling. Just before the party, she ordered Finn (the one in her head) to give her some space, which he obliged. There was still that static of voices in the back of her mind, but it was drowned out by the old-timey music.

Suriel had a hard time following everything Agata was trying to teach him. Questioning the existence of god, the reason for kissing under the mistletoe, and even just the reason why he had to dress up as a deer. It was a lot to understand and learn.

As the party progressed, maybe about 2 hours since the start. They had 'dinner' of homemade cookies that Agata managed to cook up from expired ingredients, thankfully, they couldn't get sick from those. Suriel was already feeling tired of the whole event. The lights seemed to glow brighter, and the music was getting on his nerves.

Agata tried to balance it all, show Suriel a good time, but also not overwhelm him. Putting on her signature smile and forgetting her own urges for touch and intimacy.

Suriel sat on the table, chewing on the last of the cookies. Meanwhile, Agata cleaned up the plates and started preparing the gifts.

—

Suriel's eyes followed Agata as she moved around. He noticed the fading smile when she wasn't talking with him directly. He hopped off the table and began approaching, his bell jiggling before he grasped it to muffle it. Agata was arranging the packages under the tree. The static in her head was getting a bit much. One of the decorated balls almost dropped due to the branches bending. Agata managed to catch it at the last moment, and Suriel halted behind her just as she did. She took a moment to observe her hands shaking.

"Aga?" He called out, quietly but still louder than the music from the instant speaker.

"What is wrong with me...?" She covered her visor with her hands and took a deep breath.

She jolted when Suriel placed his hand on her shoulder. He quickly grabbed the tree with his claw tail to hold it stable, as he nudged Agata away from it.

"I think you need a break." Suriel grasped her wrists gently, taking them away from her face.

"I- well, maybe." Agata admitted feeling defeated. She tested Suriel's grip by tugging, and he responded with a firmer hold. "Are you gonna let me go?" She raised her digital eyebrow.

Suriel rolled his eyes. "Are you gonna continue being stubborn?" He let one of her wrists go to adjust her hair.

"What if I want to be stubborn? Besides, you are one to say that when you are usually the stubborn one." She used the opportunity to snatch the leash and pull on it.

They both stagger backwards till Agata's back hits the edge of the dinner table. "Do you know why I got you this outfit?"

Suriel loomed over her, both of his hands against the surface of the table. Resisting the pull of the leash. Suriel let out a bit of a growl, which was the fuel to Agata's fire. "Because you want to ride me?"

"Hehehe. Yeah. Yeah, I did." Agata chuckled before she wrapped her arms about Suriel's shoulders and lifted herself to kiss him. Suriel accepted the kiss, but he didn't put his all into it, which she noticed right off the bat. Suriel was already tired of the party, and he did not have the energy for .

Agata pulled away, unwrapping herself from him. She studied his face and noticed that he was avoiding eye contact. "...You alright there? By now you should be lifting up that sweater-"

Suriel cut in.

"Truth be told, not feeling it tonight." Suriel stood up, and the leash slipped out of Agata's limp hold. "It's not your fault, heh, I think I just need a smoke." Suriel rubbed the back of his neck and grabbed his cig case from the table.

"Right. Right. Uhm." Agata sat up on the table and adjusted her own sweater. "I hope I didn't push you too far?..."

Suriel smiled. "Heh, nah." He ruffled her hair as he walked by, much to her annoyance, and began heading out. "You can join me in a moment if you want?"

Agata fixed her hair with her fingers and looked away, thinking for a moment. She should give him some space, maybe join him in like, 10 minutes... When she looked back at him, she made the shoo-shoo motion with her hands. "Yeah, yeah, I will come soon."

"Wow, and I didn't have to do anything." Suriel chuckled, blushing lightly, as he closed the door. Agata began reddening. "YOU KNOW THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT- god this frenchie."

With a sigh, she looked over the workshop for something to do while she waited.

---

Suriel was let through the bunker doors and stepped outside. Snow crunched underneath his feet, and he leaned against the metal wall. Without the threat of the disassembly drones, since all of them in the city were disposed of, the night was quiet and peaceful. The city itself was less scary and more just barren and depressing. The snowstorm was calm, unlike most days when you could be buried alive.

Pulling out a cigarette and lighting it up with a lighter, and taking a long inhale, Suriel closed his eyes before puffing out and just breathing. He was unsure how long he spent just breathing, but then he opened his eyes, and the cigarette was no more. He held out his hand, catching the snowflakes falling from the sky.

Suriel looked closely at the flakes, at their tiny structural details. The bunker doors opened, and Agata stepped out. Suriel dropped his hand and looked at her.

"Each one is special and unique. You won't find the same one unless they are lab-made." Agata slowly approached Suriel. "I read somewhere that the largest snowflake turned out to be 15 big! Pretty crazy, right?" She leaned against the wall next to Suriel.

"Yeah." Suriel grabbed another cig. "Wonder how humans found that out and without it immediately melting or breaking while they measured it."

"Humans have their ways." Agata shrugged. "I wish I could have learned more about them."

Suriel took another inhale of his fresh cig and gave it to Agata. "I thought you were a human expert? Doing all the child caring and medical stuff."

Agata took a small puff before rolling the cigarette between her fingers. "I meant more or less their culture and society. There is only so much you can learn from children's books read before sleep or movies."

She gave the cigarette back and watched Suriel put it in his mouth. "How are you feeling?..."

"Better. I think. Maybe I am just not a party guy. The lights and the music were..."

"Sensory overload. I get it. You could have told me, I would have toned it all down for you." Agata grabbed his hand.

"You already prepared so much for me, and you were so excited to share this with me." Suriel gripped her hand back. "I feel like you also forgot about having fun yourself."

"...You are right, but! Your comfort matters to me." Agata hugged his arm, pressing her face to his shoulder. She smiled as he cradled her head.

"Heh. We will work on this." Suriel wrapped his wing around Agata, shielding her from the wind and holding her close.

"Yeah."

They stayed like that for a long while. Maybe this night wasn't all that bad?